"We have been nice girls long enough. We’ve made our cholent…we should take to the streets." - Blu Greenberg

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Wizard Rock and Women

Lauren Fairweather, a famous wrock artist.

This was written for a class called Gender and Fandom.Wizard rock (often shortened to wrock) is
a genre of music produced by Harry Potter fans dealing with themes, characters,
and events from the bestselling series.

Wrock was first performed in Boston,
Massachusetts in 2002. When the backyard rock show that Joe DeGeorge was
organizing fell apart, Joe and his brother Paul dubbed themselves Harry and the
Potters and performed a few quickly-penned songs about the popular book series.
The brothers received so much positive feedback that they continued to perform
as Harry and the Potters, releasing a self-titled album in April 2003. By 2005,
many other wrock bands had been formed, making wizard rock a veritable movement
of Harry Potter fans dedicated to preserving the books’ message in song.

The term wizard rock was first used in the liner notes of Harry and the
Potter’s fourth EP, Enchanted Ceiling,
which was released shortly before the seventh and final installment of the series
came out in July 2007. It is a neutral term that is used by hardcore wrock addicts
and non-fans alike.

People behind the scenes of wrock – organizers
of wrock performances, volunteers staffing Harry Potter conferences, and so on –
tend to be women and girls. Matt Maggiacomo, the lead singer of prominent wrock
band the Whomping Willows, estimated that 85-90% of concertgoers are women and
girls. Despite (or perhaps because of) the female-driven fan base, males tend
to dominate the most popular wrock bands; a solely female-fronted wrock headline
tour did not occur until 2008, six years after wizard rock’s inception.
Male-led wrock bands tend to book more convention performances and are more
well-known. Although there is a gender imbalance in wrock performers, it is a
significantly narrower gender gap than in the mainstream music industry. Considering there is so much equal rights activism that gets its inspiration from the Harry Potter series, it's not surprising that the wrock community is more women-friendly.

About Me

Prayer for Agunot

Creator of heaven and earth, may it be Your will to free the captive wives of Israel when love and sanctity have fled the home, but their husbands bind them in the tatters of their ketubot. Remove the bitter burden from these agunot and soften the hearts of their misguided captors. Liberate Your faithful daughters from their anguish. Enable them to establish new homes and raise up children in peace.

Grant wisdom to the judges of Israel; teach them to recognize oppression and rule against it. Infuse our rabbis with the courage to use their power for good alone.